STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has been poking fund at Kristina Rinhanoff over her pairing with Donegal singer Daniel O’Donnell.Kristina has had several high profile relationships with previous partners on the hit BBC show.Craig said: “She’s a bit of a loose cannon and I feel sorry for Daniel O’Donnell. “When she first got paired with him, I think she was gutted. But it was rather obvious she wasn’t going to get a hot, young celeb after everything that’s happened.”Craig is famed for his acid-tongued remarks on the show and is billed as Mr Nasty as he among the first of the judges to point out any mistakes.He said: “It’s natural to fall in love with your dance partner when you’re spending so much time together and Kristina managed it a few times.“But somehow I don’t think that will be the case this time around.” KRISTINA WAS ‘GUTTED’ TO BE PAIRED WITH DANIEL, SAYS JUDGE CRAIG was last modified: October 1st, 2015 by John2Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:daniel o’donnellKristina RihanoffStrictly Come Dancingread more

With a senior directing them to close the case and the woman who alleged sexual abuse getting married, it was a “game of wits” for the CBI team that probed the rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim, recalled a retired officer on Friday.As a special CBI court in Panchkula convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief of rape, it was flashback time for former CBI joint director Mulinja Narayanan, who headed the investigation. “It was a game of wits. Sometimes we won and sometimes we lost but, at the end, today’s verdict showed that no one can escape the law of the land,” he said.Hurdles during probeMr. Narayanan was posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Special Crimes) in Delhi when the Punjab and Haryana High Court handed the case to the CBI in September 2002.He also spoke about the difficulties in investigating the case.read more

Hotel management clarifies SEAG footballers’ kikiam breakfast issue SEA Games: Biñan football stadium stands out in preparedness, completion LOOK: Joyce Pring goes public with engagement to Juancho Triviño Russell Westbrook rebounds with triple-double as Thunder beat Mavs Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost five of six. T.J Warren added 24 points and Devin Booker 20.Golden State led for all but 1 minute, 17 seconds of the first half, though the Suns stayed close early. The Warriors went ahead 39-31 on a 3 from Curry with 10 minutes to go in the second.Curry had 12 points in the second quarter and added a team-high nine rebounds for the game.The Suns scored the next eight points to tie it, and were even at 45 before the Warriors closed out the half on a 24-7 run.A 3 from Andre Iguodala, a layup and free throw from Jonas Jerebko and Iguodala’s pair of free throws gave the Warriors a 69-52 lead at the break.ADVERTISEMENT Is Luis Manzano planning to propose to Jessy Mendiola? Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives past Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)PHOENIX — The Golden State Warriors needed until midway through the second quarter to find their rhythm against the West’s last-place team.Once they did, the NBA champions rolled to victory again.ADVERTISEMENT Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next Golden State’s bench combined for 46 points, and drew praise from coach Steve Kerr.“I thought the second unit mid-second quarter changed the whole game,” Kerr said.TIP-INSWarriors: For the 10th time this season, the Warriors’ starting lineup was Durant, Green, Looney, Klay Thompson and Curry. They’re 6-4 with that group. … Curry has scored 30 or more points in 13 games this season. … The Warriors’ point total was the third-highest in a game this season.Suns: Backup C Richaun Holmes missed the game due to illness, the second game in which he’s not played this season. That opened up minutes for seldom-used Dragan Bender, who played for the first time since Dec. 17 and scored for the first time since Dec. 11, 10 games ago. … F Josh Jackson fouled out late in the third quarter and played only 14 minutes, his lowest total since Nov. 21. … C Eric Moreland made his Suns debut when entered the game in the fourth quarter. Moreland signed with Phoenix on Dec. 10.UP NEXTWarriors: Host Houston Thursday night.Suns: Host Philadelphia Wednesday night, the fourth game of a season-high seven straight at home. LATEST STORIES TS Kammuri to enter PAR possibly a day after SEA Games opening MOST READ “There’s such a low margin for error when you play the champs,” Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said.Ayton’s hook shot with 6:19 left in the third quarter cut the Warriors’ lead to 82-72, but Golden State took control again. A 3 and two free throws from Durant gave the Warriors a 100-81 lead with 1:38 to play.“I thought we slowed them down and we beat them with our minds instead of just outrunning them,” Durant said. “Our offense and our talent just take over and we just made shots.”Quinn Cook knocked down a 3 just before the third-quarter buzzer for a 108-87 lead, and Curry’s two 3s early in the fourth quarter helped Golden State go up by 27 points.“They just turned it up,” Ayton said. “They got a lot of transition baskets, they got a lot of early stops and forced a lot of tough shots.”DEFENDING DEANDREThe Warriors, in the absence of a true big man, used starters Kevon Looney and Draymond Green plus Jordan Bell off the bench to guard the 7-foot-1 Ayton. No Golden State defender on Ayton was taller than 6-9.Bell was the most physical of the group and was rewarded with extended minutes. He blocked Ayton’s shot under the basket in the third quarter and at the other end by made all five shots he took for a season-high 10 points.“I just tried to get a little closer to the rim and wherever my man went, I just cut right behind him,” Bell said. “Tried to keep him (Ayton) off the offensive board. Tough, tough task to do that.”BENCH BLAST BREAKING: Corrections officer shot dead in front of Bilibid Stephen Curry scored 34 points and Kevin Durant added 25, leading the Warriors over the Phoenix Suns 132-109 on Monday night.The Warriors beat the Suns for the 17th straight time, including eight in a row in Phoenix.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSPrivate companies step in to help SEA Games hostingSPORTSUrgent reply from Philippine ‍football chiefSPORTSSEA Games: Biñan football stadium stands out in preparedness, completionGolden State (25-13) was 14 for 28 on 3-pointers, with Curry going 5 of 9.“Pretty much the whole second quarter and beyond, we were just disciplined defensively and played with a purpose on offense,” Curry said. “Created good shots. It was a great night.” Kevin Durant out with Achilles injury; to undergo MRI on Tuesday PLAY LIST 03:12Kevin Durant out with Achilles injury; to undergo MRI on Tuesday01:43Who are Filipinos rooting for in the NBA Finals?02:25Raptors or Warriors? PBA players take their pick of NBA champ02:42PH underwater hockey team aims to make waves in SEA Games01:44Philippines marks anniversary of massacre with calls for justice01:19Fire erupts in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City01:07Trump talks impeachment while meeting NCAA athletes02:49World-class track facilities installed at NCC for SEA Games02:11Trump awards medals to Jon Voight, Alison Krauss SEA Games: Biñan football stadium stands out in preparedness, completion Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Private companies step in to help SEA Games hosting View commentsread more

Twitter/RussiniIn just a few short weeks, Dianna Russini, a 32-year-old former sports anchor for NBC Washington, will be making her debut for ESPN. The news was announced back in mid-May, and Russini recently finished up her last day with her former employer. She’s expected to be an anchor for the Worldwide Leader’s SportsCenter program. How often she’ll be featured is still a mystery.Where is she from? How did she get her career started? Is she single? We’ve got all of those answers and more, along with a few photos of the rising star. In Photos: Everything You Need To Know About ESPN’s Dianna Russini >>>Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7

Sloan said that crews have been levelling out the property and preparing it for construction to begin on the new school’s foundation, with the goal of having the first concrete poured before the ground hardens up later in the fall.He explained that initial work has been proceeding at a faster pace than on the new Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray School on the City’s west side due to a number of factors, including better preparedness and different geological properties of the site.“We weren’t sure when we were going to get approval, so we had the plan on the shelf. I wouldn’t say this is ahead of the game, but this is our new reality in terms of making sure that we construct to schedule. ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ is the expression, and we had enough interesting experiences with weather on the ‘Ma’ Murray site that once we got the go-ahead we had the plan on the shelf for how to prep the site.”Sloan said that the land for the new school differs in several aspects from that of ‘Ma’ Murray including in ground slope and composition, which makes it easier to prepare for laying the building’s foundation.The provincial government announced on June 28th that it is providing up to $30.8 million to build the school, while the School District will contribute $300,000. Full-scale construction is set to begin next summer, with the school scheduled to open in fall 2021, with 505 spaces for students in Kindergarten through Grade 6. FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – School District #60 says that site preparation work has begun on a new elementary school on the northeast side of Fort St. John, less than two months after the provincial government announced funding for the project.SD60 Superintendent Dave Sloan said that construction crews began preparation work at the site of the new school, which is located across 112th Avenue from the Fort St. John Hospital, less than a week ago.The School District posted photos of the construction work on its Facebook page on Sunday.read more

Jakarta: Three tourists were killed and dozens others injured on Monday after an earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia’s Lombok island, causing subsequent landslides. The incident took place in Tiu Kelep waterfall in Senaru village near Mount Rinjani, reports Xinhua news agency. Two victims were Malaysian nationals who were visiting the coutry along with 38 other travellers. The third victim was an Indonesian tourist. The landslides trapped a total of 38 visitors, of which 35 were rescued. Twenty visitors were badly injured and dozens of others sustained minor wounds, a disaster management official said. Some 32 buildings collapsed and 500 were affected with moderate damage. More than 80 people, 22 of them Malaysians, had to be evacuated from Mount Rinjani.read more

The United States kicks off its 2014 World Cup campaign on Monday against Ghana, the team that eliminated the Stars and Stripes from the 2010 tournament in the round of 16. That’s the must-watch game in the U.S. But for most of the rest of the world, it’s Germany versus Portugal.See our World Cup interactive for the latest probabilities. — Allison McCannIN DEPTHSo what’s changed for Ghana and the U.S. since they last faced each other on this stage?America’s lineup has been transformed in the four years since 2010’s disappointment. Only four of the U.S. starting 11 from the loss to Ghana — goalkeeper Tim Howard, midfielders Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey, and striker Jozy Altidore — will be in coach Jürgen Klinsmann’s opening lineup Monday. (The most notable absence is Landon Donovan, though central defender Carlos Bocanegra was another useful veteran who saw his role with Team USA phased out in recent years.)Klinsmann made clear his preference for a fresh group during the selection process, and — Donovan’s ouster aside — that’s not a bad thing. New faces since 2010, including Fabian Johnson and Geoff Cameron, have acquitted themselves reasonably well for clubs in Europe, a factor Klinsmann values highly. Graham Zusi, Brad Davis and Matt Besler are playing effectively in MLS. The cupboard isn’t quite as bare as is widely believed, though the U.S. is still far from elite in the talent department.As for Ghana, it’s turned over six of its eleven starting slots from four years ago — although most of its best players from 2010 are back, including jack-of-all-trades Kwadwo Asamoah, midfielders Andre Ayew, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Michael Essien, and striker Asamoah Gyan. The Black Stars have also promoted the talented two-way midfielder Sulley Muntari into a regular starting role since their last World Cup meeting with the United States. (Needless to say, midfield is the strength of Ghana’s roster.)Most members of that group are plying their trade in top European leagues, so Ghana’s high-end talent is probably superior to that of the United States. But Ghana’s edge in talent hasn’t always translated in international play. It ranked just 38th in the pre-World Cup Elo Ratings, while the Americans ranked 13th.When ESPN’s Soccer Power Index (SPI) ranks teams, it attempts to combine these two elements — observed results and underlying talent — into a single rating for a given national team. And the current SPI rankings say the United States and Ghana are in a dead heat. The U.S. ranks 22nd in the world with a 77.53 SPI — meaning the Americans would compile 77.53 percent of the possible points if they played a round robin against every other national team in the world. Ghana ranks 25th, with an SPI of 77.37. That’s the smallest SPI margin between any two teams that will face each other in the group stage of this World Cup.As of Sunday, the sportsbook Bovada has Ghana as a slim favorite over the U.S., 35.8 percent to 34.5 percent (with a 29.7 percent chance of a draw). The FiveThirtyEight match projection system flips those odds around, giving the United States a very slight edge: 37.5 percent to 33 percent. Whatever happens, U.S.-Ghana should be one of the most evenly matched showdowns of the entire World Cup.YesterdayArgentina’s 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday served notice to the casual soccer fan: One individual moment of brilliance can overshadow an average game.In the first 64 minutes of the match, Argentina’s Lionel Messi was the game’s most active participant in the attacking third, but the three chances he created didn’t translate into a single shot on goal. And he had turned the ball over a game-high three times.In the 65th minute, Messi reminded the Maracana how quickly he can change a game. He made a run from the midfield, past Bosnian midfielder Muhamed Besic, and played a quick 1-2 ball to teammate Gonzalo Higuain. Messi’s short-burst quickness created separation from Besic, and he hesitated slightly before the shot, driving another Bosnian player into Besic and out of position.Messi then banked a left-footed shot off the post for the eventual game-winning goal, Argentina’s first shot on goal of the match and only the second goal of Messi’s World Cup career. From his first touch in midfield to the ball crossing the goal line, the entire sequence took just over 9.5 seconds and erased the match’s first 64 minutes from spectators’ memory.That was all it took; the night belonged to Messi, whose production under Alejandro Sabella has been outstanding. Messi has 22 goals in 26 international games since Sabella became Argentina’s manager in September 2011, compared with 17 goals in 61 matches under all other managers. — John Parolin, senior stats analyst, ESPNOFF THE PITCHIf Ghana defeats the United States on Monday, Americans shouldn’t be too quick to feel ill-disposed toward the West African nation. The United States imports two bread-and-butter items from Ghana (though they are neither bread nor butter): oil and chocolate. In 2011, just more than 44 percent of Ghanaian exports to the United States was oil (crude and refined) and roughly 42 percent was chocolate (cocoa beans, chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa paste and cocoa butter). That’s $374,624,626 in chocolate.Ghana also sent $7,016,768 in fake hair to the U.S. Thanks, Ghana!What does the U.S. send to Ghana? Cars — worth about $303 million in 2011. — Micah CohenFurther ReadingCtrl + ← The World Cup, the World Cup And the World CupHow Soccer Explains the Sports Pageread more

*In preseason polls since 1976-77 season for women’s basketball, 1961-62 for men’s basketball and 1950 for football.Source: College Poll Archive TexasFootball5275 The year was 1956. Ohio State’s college football program was ranked fifth in the annual Associated Press preseason college football poll and was coming off a season in which they had won all but two games. Expectations for a strong season were, no doubt, high.But head coach Woody Hayes was in hot water with the Big Ten for providing loans to his players, and after an investigation, the conference put the team on probation for one year and banned it from playing in that season’s Rose Bowl.Sixty-two years later, Ohio State is once again entering the season with a No. 5 preseason ranking, having won all but two games the previous season. Controversy blankets the campus once more: Head coach Urban Meyer has been suspended for the opening three games of the season after an investigation concluded that he had mishandled domestic assault allegations against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.High expectations are nothing new in Columbus. For about as long as college football has been around, the Ohio State Buckeyes have been a force. In the annals of the sport’s history, only Michigan (943) — oh, the irony — and Notre Dame (906) have won more games than the Buckeyes (898).1Excluding Yale, which is not currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team. Since the turn of the century, only Boise State, which has played in three non-Power-Five conferences over that stretch, has won more total games than Ohio’s flagship university.And that prodigious success isn’t lost on Associated Press voters.Ohio State has failed to make the poll just four times in the 69-year history of the poll, most recently in 1988. That was John Cooper’s first year at the helm after taking over for the fired Earle Bruce. Cooper wouldn’t miss another preseason poll. Hayes only missed out in 1966 and 1967, the lone instance of the team failing to crack the AP preseason poll in consecutive years.Which got us thinking: Does Ohio State dominate this poll more than any team in any sport dominates its preseason poll? AP voters produce a preseason, weekly and postseason poll for three college sports: football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. In 1989, the polls expanded to a 25-team format, which remains the current standard.Across the three sports, only the Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball program has been more of a mainstay on the preseason poll than the Ohio State football team, according to data from the website College Poll Archive. Tennessee has made the AP preseason poll 98 percent of the time. It’s missed just once in the poll’s 42-year history — in 1976, the year the poll was introduced. Largely under their legendary coach, the late Pat Summitt, the Volunteers piled up eight national championships and 18 Final Four appearances, controlling the sport for decades before Connecticut assumed the mantle. 2Ohio StateFootball6594 RKTeamSportCountRate* 5USCFootball5884 3KentuckyMen’s basketball5088 9GeorgiaWomen’s basketball3276 4OklahomaFootball6087 Appearances 7Notre DameFootball5580 The preseason eliteTeams with the highest rate of appearances in AP Top 25 preseason polls in men’s or women’s basketball and college football 1TennesseeWomen’s basketball4198% 10AlabamaFootball5275 North CarolinaMen’s basketball4884 UCLAMen’s basketball4375 8TexasWomen’s basketball3379 Ohio State has at least five more appearances on the AP preseason poll than any team in any sport, having qualified in 94 percent of available seasons. Since 1989, Ohio State’s average ranking in the preseason AP poll is 10.3. And perhaps no team dominates the opening month of the season like Ohio State, which has gone 21-2 over the last six years in the month of September, winning by an average margin of more than 30 points per game. But preseason rankings aren’t always pinpoint precise: Ohio State typically underperforms relative to its lofty preseason ranking.AP preseason polls typically draw from blue-blood schools, so it’s no surprise that other well-heeled programs like the football teams at Oklahoma and USC and the men’s basketball team at Kentucky are among the most-ranked.But on the gridiron, no team is accustomed to high expectations like the Buckeyes. Columbus has produced the second-most first-round NFL draft picks all time, and the team is expected not only to win, but to dominate. In this weekend’s season opener against Oregon State, Ohio State opened as 38-point favorites, the most lopsided betting line of any opening-week contest for a ranked team. “A place like Ohio State, we’re expected to win every game we play,” Meyer has said. “There’s not many places like that.” Those are expectations that Meyer also noted aren’t always “easy to embrace.” But players and coaches alike should recognize that’s what they’ve signed up for in Columbus: a culture of on-field success, national title aspirations and a preseason ranking.read more

A little over two months after committing to Ohio State, four-star defensive end Andrew Chatfield reopened his recruiting process Monday evening.I just open my recruitment please respect my decision — Andrew Chatfield™ (@Drew_Chatfield) August 8, 2017The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native committed to the Buckeyes June 1. Two weeks ago, he received an offer from the Florida Gators, fueling speculation he might flip his commitment to the in-state program.Chatfield is the No. 297 overall play in his class and the 14th-best weakside defensive end, according to 247Sports composite rankings.Ohio State now has 16 commitments in its 2018 recruiting class. One defensive end – five-star Georgia native Brenton Cox – remains committed to the Buckeyes.